Gethsemane was the garden where Jesus went to pray when his trial became crushing and his cup overwhelmed him. It was where he wept out his deepest sorrows before the Father. And it was also where he won the battle over every evil principality and power.
Some Christians today say, “Ours is not a generation of tears. We have been called to celebrate and commanded to take everything by faith. We can speak the Word and every mountain will be moved. We are to simply meditate on God’s goodness.” Such is the posture of the prosperous modern church.
I agree that our God is a God of love and, yes, we are to celebrate before him. But there comes a time when our trials are so overwhelming that we can do nothing but cry before his throne. It happened to Jesus, yet he did not sin in unbelief when he prayed in Gethsemane. On the contrary, Jesus was demonstrating to his people how to obtain power and authority over all satanic forces.
Consider Jesus’ prayers at Gethsemane:
“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38). His declaration is saying, in essence, “This is beyond understanding and if it goes on, it will kill me.”
Jesus continued, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (26:39). Have you ever prayed in such agony that hot tears streaked your face?
Jesus prayed the “ultimate prayer” at Gethsemane, meaning the final prayer that would move mountains and shake hell. It was simply this: “Not as I will, but as You will.” You may have wrestled in prayer over a situation. You tell God how you have fasted and interceded, knocked, sought and believed, and yet what you want is not happening. This has created a real conflict in your spirit.
I encourage you to cast everything into his hands and enter into the place of rest he has prepared (Hebrews 4:1). He has promised, “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters” (2 Corinthians 6:18). And your Father keeps his promises!
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David Wilkerson (1931 – 2011)
Founder of Times Square Church in New York City with over 100 different languages spoken in the congregation. Wilkerson wrote many powerful books such as: The Vision and Cross and the Switchblade. His ministry was prophetic as God called him to be a watchman to the Church in North America. He gave clear messages on repentance to the Church.Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge where there are hundreds of centres for Christ-centered drug recovery and addiction recovery. He also organized and spoke at pastors gatherings in many countries where he gave prophetic strong messages to encourage pastors and leaders.
Recommends these books by David Wilkerson:
The Vision and Beyond, Prophecies Fulfilled and Still to Come by David Wilkerson
Knowing God by Name: Names of God That Bring Hope and Healing by David Wilkerson
God's Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression by David Wilkerson
David Wilkerson is an American Christian evangelist, most well-known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He is also the founder of Times Square Church in New York, an interdenominational church.
Wilkerson is well-known for these early years of his ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. He co-authored a book about his work with the New York drug addicts, The Cross and the Switchblade, which became a best-seller, selling over 50 million copies in over thirty languages since it was published in 1963. The book was included among the 100 most important Christian books of the 20th century.
For over four decades, Wilkerson's ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. He has authored over 30 books.
David Wilkerson is the founder and president of World Challenge, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated on September 22, 1971. Reverend Wilkerson, the author of over thirty inspirational books, is perhaps best known for his early days of ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. His story is told in The Cross and the Switchblade, a book he co-authored which became a best-seller. (The story has been read by over 50 million people in some thirty languages and 150 countries since 1963. In 1969, a motion picture of the same title was released.)
For over four decades, Reverend Wilkerson's evangelistic ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. Throughout that time a distinctive characteristic of his work has been his direct efforts to reach the neediest members of the population with help for both body and soul. Even now, the almost 70 year-old minister often goes out alone or sometimes with an assistant to walk through the streets of New York City, along Broadway and Eighth Avenue or down 42nd Street and nearby "Crack Alley" on 41st Street. His mission is always to seek out the lost, the disoriented, and the addicted , to tell them of the power of the risen Christ to set them free.
David Wilkerson, born in Hammond, Indiana on May 19, 1931, was married in 1953 to Gwen Carosso. The Wilkersons' two sons are ministers, and their two daughters are married to ministers. They have 11 grandchildren. The Wilkersons served small pastorates in Scottsdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, until Reverend Wilkerson saw a photograph in Life magazine of several New York City teenagers charged with murder. Moved with compassion he was drawn to the city in February 1959. It was at that time he began his street ministry to what one writer called "desperate, bewildered, addicted, often violent youth.